Māori have highest increases in life expectancy

Ko te iwi Māori te iwi kaha rawa te pikinga ake o te roanga o ngā tau o te ora is this story in te reo Māori.

Life expectancy at birth for people identifying with the Māori ethnic group increased more than that of other broad ethnic groups between 2005-2007 and 2022-2024, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.

However, life expectancy for Māori remains lower than that of other ethnic populations.

Life expectancy at birth for people who identify as Māori was 75.8 years in 2022-2024, up 3.1 years from 2005-2007. Over the same period, life expectancy at birth for people who identify with 'European or Other', Pacific, or Asian ethnicities each increased by 1.5-1.6 years.

In 2022-2024, life expectancy at birth was:

• 81.8 years for the population of Aotearoa New Zealand as a whole
• 82.8 years for people who identify with European or Other (including New Zealander) ethnicities
• 76.9 years for people who identify with a Pacific ethnicity
• 86.3 years for people who identify with an Asian ethnicity.

"Although life expectancy has increased since 2005-2007, the size of this increase has reduced over the past five years across all ethnicities - while Māori have continued to show some of the largest increases," population estimates, projections, and coverage spokesperson Victoria Treliving said.

"Across all ethnic groups, male life expectancy has increased faster than for females."

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Life expectancy for the total population stalls over the last five years

Life expectancy at birth for the total population barely increased between 2017-2019 and 2022-2024. There was a small increase for males, from 80.0 to 80.1 years, but female life expectancy at birth remained at 83.5 years.

"The increase in life expectancy over the last five years is the smallest since the early 1960s, when it dropped for males. It also follows a relatively small increase of 0.5 years for males and 0.3 years for females between 2012-2014 and 2017-2019," Treliving said.

Changes in life expectancy between 2017-2019 and 2022-2024 conceal the year-to-year changes seen in the annual New Zealand cohort life tables: March 2025 update. Based on the cohort life tables, period life expectancy increased in 2020 and 2021, fell back in 2022 and 2023, and increased again in 2024.

"Gains in life expectancy over the last decade have been smaller than those in previous decades. However, the latest population projections assume that life expectancy could continue to increase in the future," Treliving said.

Based on trends in age-specific death rates (National population projections: 2024(base)-2078), life expectancy at birth, based on the median assumption, could increase to:

• 82.3 years in 2033, and 84.6 years in 2048 for males
• 85.4 years in 2033, and 87.4 years in 2048 for females.

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Life expectancy highest in Tasman region

In the 2022-2024 period, the Tasman region was estimated to have the highest life expectancy at birth for both males and females (82.8 and 85.7 years, respectively), followed by the Auckland region (81.1 years for males and 84.3 years for females).

Life expectancy at birth was lowest in the Gisborne region (77.9 years for males and 81.5 years for females).

The regional trends seen in 2022-2024 have largely remained consistent over time. Regional life tables were first derived for 1990-1992, and since then, the Tasman region and/or the Auckland region have generally had the highest life expectancy, while the Gisborne region has continued to have the lowest.

"Subnational differences in life expectancy at birth reflect several interrelated factors, including health and socioeconomic factors," Treliving said.

It is important to note that life expectancy estimates for regions with small death and population numbers have greater uncertainty. Calculations for life tables are based on where someone lived at the time of death, which may not necessarily be where they spent most of their life.

Stats NZ does not collect data on cause of death.

Mortality data and statistics, published by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, has more information on cause of death data.

Text alternative for Median life expectancy at birth by region, 2022-2024.

About life expectancy

Period life expectancy indicates how much longer a person will live on average if the death rates at each age, for a specific time period, remain constant throughout their lives. It reflects mortality patterns during a specific time period, which does not account for future changes. For example, based on death rates in 2022-2024, life expectancy at birth for males and females in New Zealand is 80.1 years and 83.5 years, respectively. However, if death rates continue to decrease over time, the actual lifespan for someone born today could be longer than this estimate.

To smooth out year-to-year variations, period life tables are derived using data from a three-year period, rather than a single year. This approach helps reduce the impact of statistical variations, especially at younger ages where deaths are rare, and at very old ages where the population is small.

Text alternative for Median life expectancy at birth by region, 2022-2024

This map displays New Zealand's regions shaded to represent the average life expectancy at birth, based on death rates from 2022 to 2024. The values reflect the combined average for males and females. Regions are colour-coded into four life expectancy ranges: 79.5 to less than 81.0 years, 81.0 to less than 81.9 years, 81.9 to less than 82.8 years, and 82.8 to less than 85.0 years. The average life expectancy at birth varied across the country, ranging from 79.7 years in the Gisborne region, through to 84.2 years in the Tasman region.

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